Apple
Fruit & berry· orchard fruit

What it is
Apple is the pome fruit of Malus domestica, cultivated worldwide in thousands of varieties.
What it tastes like
On the nose: pineapple, fatty, orange-rose. Among its measured molecules: hexyl 2-methylbutyrate, 2-methylbutyric acid, methyl 2-methylbutyrate, 2-methylbutyl acetate, butyl acetate.
What goes with it
- Sweet orangeboth carry ethyl butyrate, pineapplecite
- Sloe ginboth carry hexyl acetatecite
- Sherry vinegarboth carry hexyl acetatecite
Salt and acid
Salt
Sodium 1 mg per 100 g — USDA FoodData Central 171688.
Acid
Acid 0.36 % (g/100 g) — USDA FoodData Central 171688.
Unusual pairings
Pairs the library can cite that almost nobody makes.
- Apple + Raspberry
both carry ethyl hexanoate, fruity berry (47 of 341 carry it)
- Apple + Blackcurrant
both carry ethyl butyrate, pineapple (30 of 341 carry it)
- Apple + Cucumber
both carry nonanal, orange-rose (92 of 341 carry it)
14 of 188 compounds on file carry a paper the library can cite.
hexanalaromaaldehydereads as sharp, aldehyde (PubChem)Measured in 87 of 341 ingredients.cite
one of only two compounds carrying a value for all four cultivars at both stages in the skin table: OAV 23.32-392.64 at harvest and 42.80-407.84 at the key aroma transition period — Lu et al. 2024, Foods (Table 1, row 'Hexanal')ethyl butyratearomaesterreads as pineapple (PubChem)Measured in 22 of 341 ingredients.cite
OAV 3439.60 in Binzi skin at the key aroma transition period (36.09 in Starking at harvest); odour threshold 1 µg/kg — Lu et al. 2024, Foods (Table 1, row 'Ethyl butyrate')1-hexanolaromaalcoholreads as fatty, fruity (PubChem)Measured in 50 of 341 ingredients.cite
the most abundant alcohol of the 11 varieties, 'with a variation between 1.81% and 15.38% compared with the total height of identified VOCs'; alcohols, aldehydes and others together are no more than about 27% of the profile — Chitarrini Giulia et al. 2020, Molecules (Results §2.1, alcohols)2-methylbutyric acidaromaacidMeasured in 4 of 341 ingredients.cite
OAV 606.44 in Starking skin at the key aroma transition period, from 166.19 at harvest; the only acid in either characteristic-VOC table — Lu et al. 2024, Foods (Table 1, row '2-Methyl butyric acid')hexyl acetatearomaesterreads as sweet ester (PubChem)Measured in 17 of 341 ingredients.cite
OAV 532.83 in Golden Delicious skin at the key aroma transition period; present in Starking and Golden Delicious but not in the two ancient Chinese cultivars — Lu et al. 2024, Foods (Table 1, row 'Hexyl acetate')2-methylbutyl acetatearomaesterMeasured in 5 of 341 ingredients.cite
OAV 204.46 in Starking skin at the key aroma transition period; odour threshold 5 µg/kg — Lu et al. 2024, Foods (Table 1, row '2-Methylbutyl acetate')methyl 2-methylbutyratearomaesterMeasured in 4 of 341 ingredients.cite
OAV 1388.35 in Starking skin at harvest, rising to 1679.36 at the key aroma transition period; odour threshold 0.25 µg/kg. Not detected in the other three cultivars' skin — Lu et al. 2024, Foods (Table 1, row 'Methyl 2-methylbutyrate')ethyl 2-methylbutyratearomaesterMeasured in 9 of 341 ingredients.cite
the highest OAV of any compound in the paper: 9268.73 in Starking skin and 15,469.63 in Binzi skin at the key aroma transition period, against an odour threshold of 0.1 µg/kg — Lu et al. 2024, Foods (Table 1 (The odor and OAV of the main characteristic VOCs in skin), row 'Ethyl 2-methylbutyrate')hexyl 2-methylbutyratearomaesterMeasured in 1 of 341 ingredients.cite
OAV 527.09 in Starking skin at the key aroma transition period; detected in all four cultivars' skin — Lu et al. 2024, Foods (Table 1, row 'Hexyl 2-methylbutyrate')ethyl hexanoatearomaesterMeasured in 36 of 341 ingredients.cite
OAV 1167.97 in Binzi skin at the key aroma transition period; 153.26 in Starking skin at harvest — Lu et al. 2024, Foods (Table 1, row 'Ethyl caproate')butyl acetatearomaesterreads as sweet (PubChem)Measured in 8 of 341 ingredients.cite
one of the two esters 'mainly represented' after hexyl acetate; 'varied from 3.58% in "Choupette®-Dalinette" site A up to 19.98% in the "CIV323-Isaaq®" site A' of total peak height — Chitarrini Giulia et al. 2020, Molecules (Results §2.1, esters)nonanalaromaaldehydereads as orange-rose (PubChem)Measured in 62 of 341 ingredients.cite
OAV 335.04 in Golden Delicious skin at the key aroma transition period; not detected in Starking — Lu et al. 2024, Foods (Table 1, row '1-Nonanal')alpha-farnesenearomaterpenoidMeasured in 8 of 341 ingredients.cite
found 'influencing "Fuji", "Fujion" and "SQ 159" varieties'; the same sentence states its biological function 'is unclear and probably is not a key odor compound in apple', while noting it has been proposed alongside the esters for cultivar classification — Chitarrini Giulia et al. 2020, Molecules (Results §2.1, terpenes)β-damascenonearomaterpenoidMeasured in 13 of 341 ingredients.cite
the only norisoprenoid in either table and the only compound with a value for all four cultivars in the pulp: OAV 241.95-795.87 at harvest, and up to 1574.64 in Xiangguo pulp at the key aroma transition period, on an odour threshold of 0.05 µg/kg — Lu et al. 2024, Foods (Table 2, row 'β-Damascenone')
On file, no cited source yet ✳
These molecules are on record for it from the library's earlier sources. We are buying and requesting the papers; each one that lands moves its molecule up into the cited list.
- methylguanidine
- 3-feruloylquinic acidacid
- Phloretin 2'-O-xylosyl-glucosideflavonoid
- 1-[2-[(2S,3R,4S,5S,6R)-4,5-dihydroxy-6-(hydroxymethyl)-3-[(2S,3R,4S,5R)-3,4,5-trihydroxyoxan-2-yl]oxyoxan-2-yl]oxy-4,6-dihydroxyphenyl]-3-(4-hydroxyphenyl)propan-1-oneflavonoid
- 3-Hydroxyphloretin 2'-O-glucosideflavonoid
- 3-(4-hydroxyphenyl)propionic acidacid
- putrescinenitrogen compoundreads as piperidine (PubChem)
- syringic acidphenol
- (EZ)-sinapic acidacid
- Epicatechin gallateester
- (RS)-citramalic acidacid
- (2R,3R,4R)-2-(3,4-dihydroxyphenyl)-4-[(2R,3R)-2-(3,4-dihydroxyphenyl)-3,5,7-trihydroxy-3,4-dihydro-2H-chromen-8-yl]-6-[(2R,3R,4S)-2-(3,4-dihydroxyphenyl)-3,5,7-trihydroxy-3,4-dihydro-2H-chromen-4-yl]-3,4-dihydro-2H-chromene-3,5,7-triolflavonoid
- 3-Hexen-1-olalcohol
- hexadecaneacid
- spermidinenitrogen compound
- sperminenitrogen compound
- procyanidin B1flavonoid
- terpinoleneterpenoidreads as terpene taste (PubChem)
- (2R,3R)-2-(3,4-dihydroxyphenyl)-6-[(2R,3S,4S)-2-(3,4-dihydroxyphenyl)-3,5,7-trihydroxy-3,4-dihydro-2H-chromen-4-yl]-3,4-dihydro-2H-chromene-3,5,7-triolflavonoid
- tryptophan N-glucosideacid
- vanillinphenolreads as sweetish (PubChem)
- matairesinolphenol
- 2-coumaric acidacid
- 4-((4'-(Aminomethyl)-[1,1'-biphenyl]-3-yl)oxy)pyrimidine-2-carbonitrilenitrogen compound
- Catechin (no stereochemistry defined)flavonoid
- 3-hydroxyphloretin 2'-O-xylosylglucosidephenol
- cyanidin 3-arabinoside cationflavonoid
- cyclohexyl acetateesterreads as reminiscent of amyl acetate (PubChem)
- 2-(3,4-dihydroxyphenyl)-5,7-dihydroxy-3-[(2S,3R,4R,5S)-3,4,5-trihydroxyoxan-2-yl]oxychromen-4-oneflavonoid
- methyl butyrateesterreads as apple (PubChem)
- Procyanidin B2flavonoid
- pentyl acetateesterreads as persistent banana (PubChem)
- p-menthan-3-olalcoholreads as cooling (PubChem)
- cyanidin cationflavonoid
- Proanthocyanidin B2flavonoid
- Cyanidin 3-b-L-arabinosideflavonoid
- eriodictyol-7-O-glucosideflavonoid
- 4-hydroxybenzoic acidacid
- palmitic acidacidreads as taste (PubChem)
- folic acidacid
- procyanidin C2flavonoid
- 1-o-p-Coumaroyl-beta-d-glucosesugar
- procyanidin B3flavonoid
- (-)-procyanidin B4flavonoid
- geranyl acetateterpenoidreads as lavender (PubChem)
- hex-3-enyl acetateester
- decaneacid
- cinnamtannin A2flavonoid
- 3-(4-hydroxyphenyl)propionamidenitrogen compound
- [(2R,3S,4S,5S,6S)-6-[5-[(2S)-5,7-dihydroxy-4-oxo-2,3-dihydrochromen-2-yl]-2-hydroxyphenoxy]-3,4,5-trihydroxyoxan-2-yl]methyl (E)-3-(4-hydroxyphenyl)prop-2-enoateflavonoid
- procyanidin C1flavonoid
- acetaldehydealdehydereads as pungent, fruity (PubChem)
- Chlorogenic acidphenol
- acetoneketonereads as fruity (PubChem)
- benzoic acidphenolreads as bitter taste (PubChem)
- p-Coumaroyl-D-glucoseacid
- Luteoliflavan 5-glucosideflavonoid
- 6''-O-trans-p-Coumaroyleriodictyol 3'-glucosideflavonoid
- limoneneterpenoidreads as lemon (PubChem)
- Feruloyl glucoseacid
- benzaldehydealdehydereads as burning aromatic taste (PubChem)
- benzyl alcoholalcoholreads as aromatic (PubChem)
- 4-guanidinobutyric acidacid
- coumaroyl(3-OMe)(-2)Glcacid
- 3-careneterpenoid
- L-arginineacid
- 3-phenylprop-2-enalacid
- myrceneterpenoid
- 4-coumaric acidacid
- eugenolphenolreads as cloves (PubChem)
- lariciresinolalcohol
- guanidine
- gallic acidacid
- 4-hydroxybenzoic acidphenol
- Favan-3-olflavonoid
- isopropyl alcoholalcoholreads as burning taste (PubChem)
- glycocyamineacid
- naringeninflavonoid
- N-amidino-L-aspartic acidacid
- eriodictyolflavonoid
- cyanidin 3-O-β-D-glucosideflavonoid
- cyanidin 3-O-beta-D-galactoside(1+)flavonoid
- aucuparinhydrocarbon
- (E)-cinnamic acidacid
- ferulic acidacid
- (2S,4R)-1,7,7-trimethylbicyclo[2.2.1]heptan-2-olterpenoid
- procyanidin B8flavonoid
- phloretinflavonoid
- phloridzinsugar
- 4-guanidinobutyric acidacid
- Prodelphinidin Bflavonoid
- 2-(3,4-dihydroxyphenyl)-5,7-dihydroxy-3-[(2S,3R,4R,5R,6S)-3,4,5-trihydroxy-6-(hydroxymethyl)oxan-2-yl]oxychromen-4-oneflavonoid
- quercetinflavonoid
- apigeninflavonoid
- luteolinflavonoid
- linoleic acidacid
- quercitrinflavonoid
- neochlorogenic acidacid
- isoquercetinflavonoid
- rutinflavonoid
- kaempferolflavonoid
- humuleneterpenoid
- galanginflavonoid
- hyperosideflavonoid
- isorhamnetinflavonoid
- myricetinflavonoid
- rhamnetinflavonoid
- 4-p-Coumaroylquinic acidacid
- ellagic acidphenol
- 24-nor-5beta-cholane-3alpha,7alpha,12alpha,23-tetrolacid
- (E)-cinnamyl alcoholalcoholreads as bitter taste (PubChem)
- quercetin-3-O-beta-D-xylopyranosideflavonoid
- Quercetin 3-xylosideflavonoid
- quercetin 3-O-alpha-L-fucopyranosideflavonoid
- guaijaverinflavonoid
- Einecs 250-156-0flavonoid
- avicularinflavonoid
- D-sorbitolsugarreads as sweet taste, approx 60% as sweet as sugar (wt/wt) (PubChem)
- Kaempferol-3-O-rhamnosidesugar
- creatineacid
- phenylethyl alcoholalcoholreads as sharp burning taste (PubChem)
- phlorizinflavonoid
- 1-pentanolalcohol
- L-arginineacid
- ethylenehydrocarbonreads as sweet (PubChem)
- Cinnamaldehydealdehydereads as sweet taste (PubChem)
- o-coumaric acidacid
- 3'-hydroxycinnamic acidacid
- p-coumaric acidacid
- geraniolalcoholreads as sweet rose (PubChem)
- (E)-sinapic acidacid
- geranialterpenoidreads as lemon (PubChem)
- trans-β-iononeterpenoidreads as warm woody, dry, and fruity (PubChem)
- luteoliflavanflavonoid
- neralterpenoid
- trans-5-O-(4-coumaroyl)-D-quinic acidacid
- bornyl acetateterpenoid
- ursolic acidacid
- epigallocatechin gallateester
- gallocatechinflavonoid
- secoisolariciresinol
- linaloolalcoholreads as spicy, citrus taste (PubChem)
- alpha-pineneterpenoidreads as turpentine (PubChem)
- tangeretinflavonoid
- Perilleneterpenoid
- trans-caffeic acidphenol
- thymolphenolreads as aromatic (PubChem)
- ethanolalcoholreads as burning (PubChem)
- (E/Z)-ferulic acidacid
- protocatechuic acidacid
- 5-O-sinapoylquinic acidacid
- 3-O-sinapoylquinic acidacid
- (−)-epicatechinphenol
- (-)-epigallocatechinflavonoid
- hesperetinflavonoid
- (+)-pinoresinolphenol
- p-cymeneterpenoid
- Q63392073ester
- glycocyamineacid
- ethyl propionateesterreads as fruity (PubChem)
- propyl butyrateester
- decanalaldehydereads as citrus (PubChem)
- dodecaneacid
- vanillic acidacid
- benzyl acetateesterreads as pear (PubChem)
- Cyanidin 3-O-xylosideflavonoid
- tert-butyl propionateester
- ethyl acetateesterreads as fragrant (PubChem)
- (+)-catechinflavonoid
- 1-octanolalcoholreads as fresh orange rose (PubChem)
- 3-O-feruloyl-D-quinic acidacid
- (4S)-4-hydroxy-3,5,5-trimethyl-4-[(1E,3R)-3-{[(2R,3R,4S,5S,6R)-3,4,5-trihydroxy-6-(hydroxymethyl)oxan-2-yl]oxy}but-1-en-1-yl]cyclohex-2-en-1-oneterpenoid
- 3-p-Coumaroylquinic acidacid
Sources
- Lu et al. 2024, Foods
- Chitarrini Giulia et al. 2020, Molecules